


The Things We Lost

by Lapithot



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Anxiety, Attempted Suicide, Blood and Gore, Depression, Diamond Authority - Freeform, F/F, Immortality, Implied Relationships, LGBT characters, Murder, Nonbinary Character, Original Character(s), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sad Peridot (Steven Universe), Short Chapters, Slow Burn, Supernatural Elements, Swearing, Violence, everyones cursed, lapis is a couple hundred years old though, mostly in peridot's pov, peridot is pretty poor, the cluster - Freeform, there will be other side ships but theyre not as important, this is kind of like a dark fantasy au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-17
Updated: 2018-05-02
Packaged: 2019-03-20 12:32:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 20,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13717752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lapithot/pseuds/Lapithot
Summary: Peridot hasn't always had the best of luck. Or the best life, for that matter. Living in a crumbling apartment with the threat of it collapsing on top of you while you sleep isn't really a pleasant way to live but its the only life Peridot has ever known. That is, until she stumbles upon something she maybe shouldn't have. And not just a regular something; a supernatural something that turns her life upside down in the worst possible way.Her fate has been sealed. A fate she never asked for, and now she wants revenge.My Tumblr





	1. Prologue | The Things She  Lost

**Author's Note:**

> I made a tumblr for art and any questions y'all may have if anyone's interested!! ↑ ↑ ↑

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Local girl tries to fight a fucking god

It was dark and windy, the thick pine trees swayed in the wind, leaves rustling loudly, covering up the faint footfalls of a girl who didn't want to be heard. A large silken cloak was covering the majority of her tiny body but underneath she donned a comfortable cotton shirt and trousers tucked into too-large hunting boots and a small sharp knife was clutched between her trembling fingers. It was cold out and the air smelt musty and damp. The dark clouds gathering in the sky threatened rain and she began to run faster so as to finish her task before the storm came. 

The girl knew the wooded area around her house like the back of her hand and easily weaved through the dense trees, her grey eyes wide and alert. She knew that one wrong move could result in her death, her families death. Everything they'd worked towards, everything they'd achieved would be wasted on the actions of this girl and she knew that and embraced it. She knew she was strong, she knew she could face the beast her family had been tracking for generations. And now, finally, it was her chance to show her stubborn father her worth. Surely he'd let her go hunting with him after this, surely he'd stop treating her like a child. Like was was worthless, useless, a disgrace to the family name. 

Her steady eyes scanned the horizon as she slowed down into a steady jog. She wasn't sure how long she'd bee running for but her breathing was beginning to lose its rhythm and her heart felt like it was going to explode out of her chest, both with exhaustion and anxiety. But she also knew that she couldn't go home empty handed. She had to bring back something or she wasn't sure what the consequences would be. Her father had been so sure she could do this and she wasn't going to fail him because she wasn't fit enough. No, she could do this. A five minute rest wouldn't hurt, she had plenty of time before the sun rose and all the shadows would slink away for another day. 

She sat with her back against a tree, its wood was rough and dug uncomfortably into the back of her thin clothing. She groaned and pulled her cloak tighter around herself and rest her head on her knees, heart beating uncomfortably in her chest. Her legs ached from running and she was could feel that it was almost about to start raining. A thick layer of mist had passed through the woods minutes prior to resting and as she looked up she silently cursed to herself, hoping that she could still find her way on time. Stretching her sore muscles she set off once again through the winding trees that creaked in the strong wind and the mist that seemed almost opaque now.

With an angry grunt she started to pick up the pace. A drop of rain landed clumsily on her nose and dribbled down her cheek. She sped up into a fast jog, hoping she could still beat the rain. Her cloak wasn't waterproof, the fabric it was made of was expensive would get damaged if it got too wet. Her parents would surely punish her if she ruined it. Ignoring the bone chilling cold that had began to grow as the wind picked up, she maneuvered her way through the woods until she finally reached her destination. Well, part of it anyway. The fog had cleared up around the area and she could see the unnatural shadows lurking around the treeline of the clearing. Taking in a deep breath, she ran forward into the open and the shadows seemed to stop what they were doing to turn in her direction. 

The knife in her hands was enchanted and sharp enough to slice through the shadows if she got close enough but she stayed put, trembling in her place. Though from what she wasn't sure. She didn't feel scared, all she felt was numbness. She knew her destiny. This was the key to a great future. This was the test she had been waiting for her whole life. Now it was her chance to do something that would change everything. It would save her village, it would make her family proud. It would fix her relationship with her parents. 

A powerful gust of wind blew up from the north and almost knocked her down. She dug her boots into the thick soil and bent low to keep her balance. 

And she waited. 

The shadows began to move in closer, snaking their way through the tall grass and over her body. Inspecting her. She could hear their faint grunts and they moved slowly around her shaking form. They knew who she was and they didn't like her. They didn't like what she was about to do. They groaned in warning, trying to get her to turn back. She knew this could evidently kill her but she was willing to take the risk. So she stayed put, long fingers wrapped elegantly around the knife, cloak pulled over her skinny shoulders, baring her family emblem. A blue teardrop gemstone. 

And then finally she saw her. She stepped away from the trees, shadows dancing over her body as she waltzed over. Her plump lips were pulled into a dastardly smile, perfect white teeth shining in the moonlight. Her short cropped hair framed her round face and she stood a couple inches above the girl. Not as tall as her sisters but still equally as intimidating. She spoke with a sort of authority, like she know she was above the girl, her voice was unnaturally soft and velvety despite the situation being anything but that. When she opened her mouth to speak a shiver ran down the girls spine. 

"Lazuli" her smile widened into a grin as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Lapis Lazuli I've been waiting for you". 

And the girl, Lapis only stood straighter as she heard her name. Her stormy eyes trained onto the others unnatural rose ones. She tucked her arm into her cloak to hide the knife, ignoring the uncomfortable way the cold metal went through the thin material of her shirt and sent a shock of icy coldness running town her skin. 

"You know why I'm here" she spoke and she flinched at the way her voice cracked with fear. She wasn't scared, she told herself as she took a reluctant step towards the other woman. "So let's just get this over and done with so I can go back home with your head in my arms". 

The lady threw back her head and let out a sharp laugh. It sounded pleasant, Lapis thought to herself, although it did hold a hint of aggression to it. Like she had other plans. Of course she did, who'd want to die at the hands of a Lazuli. 

"Very well, then". 

And Lapis lunged forward, thrusting the knife out of hiding, aiming with precision towards the woman's navel. Her weak spot, her father had told her many times. The knife hit its target and the woman stumbled back, eyes widening in shock. A dark liquid began to ooze from the open wound and she pressed a gloved hand against it and winced. Lapis hadn't cut deep enough for anything to be damaged, just the thin layer of skin. Although she had managed to draw blood which boosted her confidence a little. 

The woman knew what her strategy was now. And she smiled. Typical of humans to go for the weak spots. Their actions were always so predictable. She smiled at the young girl and stood up from her crouched position in the grass. She felt the hot sticky blood run down her stomach and ignored it, eyes trained on the girl in front of her. She was scared, she could feel the young Lazuli's fear from here. She saw the way she trembled in her cloak, unsure and unpractised. And she knew she could use that fear to torment her, make her life a living hell. 

She stumbled forward and watched as the girl reeled back, holding out her knife and waiting for her to get close enough to attack again. And she did. The knife sliced deeper this time. She could feel it as fresh blood shot out from the reopened wound. A stinging sensation erupted from the cut. An enchanted knife. Clever child. With a small grin and grabbed the knife from the girls dark hands and pushed her backwards. With one hand covering the wound and the other clutched into a tight fist around the girls loose shirt, she lifted Lapis up from the ground and set her back on her feet, not letting go. 

"You think you could beat me?" She spat, a wicked grin forming her features. Lapis' steely glare broke through the fear. "You're just a human! I don't care if you're a Lazuli, you're just a selfish mortal who wants everything for yourself". 

"I'm just doing what's best for my village" and growled through grit teeth, her tiny hands clawing at the woman's covered ones.

"Ha! As if! You only care about what your father thinks of you. And you know what he thinks? He thinks that you're a dead weight, worthless to the family. An inexperienced hunter. He sent you here to die not to come back with my head". She dropped the girl and she gasped a she hit the ground roughly. The woman leered over her. The bleeding had stopped. 

"That's not true" she screamed and her anxiety broke through. Her chest constricted and tears started building up in her eyes, clouding her vision, fueling her anger. 

"Do you honestly think someone as inexperienced as you could kill a god like me?" She sneered. 

A god? Was that really what she thought about herself? She really was as insufferable as she was rumoured to be. Lapis scoffed. Her sisters fit the title much more than she did. The women was more like a brat who leeched off the more powerful entities and then bragged about how great she was. No wonder everyone wanted her dead. And now she was trying to emotionally manipulate her into giving up. Fuck no. 

Lapis looks around for the knife. It had been dropped into the dirt during the woman's little speech and the smaller girl lunged towards it and hoped she'd reach it before she realised-

A boot clad foot stomped down on her fragile arm and Lapis cursed loudly. Her hand was inches away from her weapon, if she just stretched her middle finger she could barely scrape the tip of the weapon. She had been so close. The woman let out another maniacal laugh. 

"Seriously?" 

Lapis didn't say anything. Just lay on the ground staring sadly at the knife that could've saved her life. The pain in her arm was sharp and throbbed angrily under the mud cracked boot and she was almost sure that it had broken or at least fractured. The best she could do now was wiggle her fingers and hope the knife inched close enough to grab. Her other am was trapped under the body and was beginning to grow numb. 

"What am I going to do with you?" The woman asked although it sounded like she already knew the answer. Slowly she released her foot from Lapis' arm and stepped back. Waiting. 

The girl snatched up the knife and held it out, ready for another attack. Her bad arm was tucked gently underneath her cloak and out of harms way which only left her with her non-dominant arm. It wasn't as strong but it would do. In a fit of anger she lunged towards the woman's throat. It barely scratched her skin as she stepped out of Lapis' range with precision and a wide grin. Lapis tried lunging a few more times each strike never hitting its target and only making her anger grow. After a while the woman plucked the knife from her cold tired hands and bent the wavering magic blade until it snapped in two. The girl watched hopelessly as she tossed it to the ground. 

Maybe it hadn't been as strong as her father had said it was. Maybe he had sent her on this mission to kill her. Everything was beginning to crash down. 

"I think its time for you to go home now" the woman caught her attention, her voice was soft and quiet. "can't keep your family waiting I bet they're dying to see you" she said with a wink. Her overly cheerful tone made Lapis' heart drop. 

"Fuck you!" She snarled as she turned around and sprinted back into the woods. All she could hear was a faint laughter and that silky voice that bid her goodbye. 

By now the rain had started up again. It pelted Lapis' face as she ran. Lapis ignored it, the feeling of dread growing as she saw the lights of her village in the distance. Something was wrong. Horribly wrong. What had that witch done to her family?

She arrived on the gravel pathways that led into her village five minutes later with a heavy heart and tired lungs. She tried to catch her breath as she paced down the roads, looking around to see if something was off. Everyone had retreated inside once the rain had begun, tarps pulled frantically over carts and windows shut tight and locked so nothing got blown away. Lapis sighed and made her way further down the soggy roads. Her destination: her families house. 

It was big and grey and loomed over the other buildings like a castle. The long iron gates at the front were open and creaked in the wind. Lapis felt like she was going to cry. She could feel the tension building up but refused. She had to be strong. 

The front door was wide open and the rain had began to pool at the entryway. Lapis skipped around it and slid off her filthy boots and hung her cloak up on one of the silver hooks. Shivering from the sudden change in temperature she made her way deeper into the house. The once familiar hallways were dark and held an air of dread to them. Her first stop was the kitchen where her parents usually liked to sit and chat over a glass of wine in the evenings. It was empty. Except. It wasn't. Lapis noticed the strange shadows coming from the corners of the room. She crept forward on light feet and rounded the wooden counter until her eyes met a sight she would never be able to burn out of her memories. 

Her father was on the floor, curled up in a defensive position, eyes wide and glossy in horror. Blood trailed from his neck, slit vertically from his chin so deep you could almost see bone. Lapis felt like she was going to throw up. Beside his body was her mother's, this time her neck had been sliced so deep and precisely it was only hanging by bits of stringy muscle. The bone has been cut in half and she had a diamond shape carved into her navel. That was what made Lapis' stomach churn. She spun around and threw up most of her lunch onto the tiled floor, a few tears slipping from her eyes as she let out a choked sob. This was it. This was the end. 

Footsteps sounded behind her and she didn't turn to look up. Tears dribbled down her cheeks as she let out ugly cries of despair. A soft hand brushed over her shoulder. 

"Lapis lazuli". 

Lapis screamed. 

"I warned you. Look what you did to your parents. You're a murderer!"

"You!! You're a monster". 

"I know" she chuckled dryly.

Lapis growled angrily. 

"Although, I don't think it's fair to only punish your parents for something you did". 

The girl sobbed. She was shaking badly. 

"W-what are you going to do?" Her voice cracked. 

The woman smiled "I'm going to send you to my sister".

Lapis let out a long sigh. There was nothing she could do now. No one to protect her from the supernatural beings that haunted the world. Terrorised the mortals. Cursed the unluckiest ones to work for the diamonds for the rest of their lives. For eternity. And now Lapis was going to be nothing but a disposable pet for an immortal woman who would make her life a misery. But she also knew that there was a chance of escaping. She'd heard the stories. If she could, there was a chance she could find a nice cave or small town and live in the shadows. Well, that depended on one thing. What her curse would be. Immortality was the default but it seemed too tame to use on her after attempting to murder a diamond. She could only hope it wouldn't be her downfall. 

And so Lapis stood up, turned around to face the woman who had ruined her life, and wiped the tears off her face. Her stone cold glare met the woman's soft eyes. She held out a hand. 

"Okay" she whispered "I'll come with you".


	2. I | The Things She Felt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peri has a shitty life

"I'm sorry ma'am but I'm afraid I won't be able to give you the job" the man adjusted his tie and set his clasped hands neatly onto his desk. He had pale skin and thin black hair and his expression was set into a permanent frown. His tie was dark blue and looked just as boring as his personality. He picked up a piece of paper and flicked it straight. Dull eyes scanned the printed words. "You claim to have knowledge in this field and you did excellently in your interview although I see no evidence of any higher education and therefore I'm not sure if I can believe you". Setting the paper down he folded his arms across his chest and leant back on his slick office chair. This was just another waste of time. Some desperate kid trying to lie their way into a job. Typical millennial behaviour. 

Peridot frowned. The man slid the paper back over to her waiting hands and she slowly picked it up with a sigh, slipping it into her shoulder bag and standing up from her uncomfortable plastic seat. "I'm sorry for wasting your time" she mumbled as she turned around and silently left the room. This was bullshit! Just because she didn't study electronics in college or whatever, it didn't mean that she didn't have the knowledge needed for a decent job. Peridot had always had a knack for technology, she'd taken computer science in highschool and had graduated with above average grades. But what she did in highschool didn't matter when it came to finding a real job. She needed a degree. More experience. Which is what she didn't have and what she definitely could not afford. 

With an angry sigh at how unfair the world was she slid into her mangy car and slammed the door behind her. The paint outside the vehicle was peeling off and the bottom was caked in an unhealthy layer of mud she could never seem to scrub off. Inside the seat covers were falling off, the seatbelts always locked at unnecessary times and probably wouldn't save her if she ever got into a crash. There was trash all over the floor, something Peridot could only blame herself for but really, she couldn't care less at this moment. It took at least three times to even start the damn thing! She growled as she jammed the key in and started the car. Backing out of the carpark and setting off down the road, she turned on the radio and tapped her finger on the steering wheel along to the familiar tunes. 

Her apartment was in an even worse state than her car. If you could even call it an apartment, that is. The building itself seemed to be crumbling on its foundations and the blonde honestly wouldn't be surprised if it ended up collapsing on her one day. The sweet release of death didn't sound to bad right about now. 

Peridot stepped out of her car and shut the door. Locking the piece of junk wouldn't even be necessary, who would want to steal something that looks like it belonged crushed in a dump? But Peridot knew the people who lived around these part were desperate. With a scowl she locked the vehicle. 

The door to her apartment was old and wonky and the hinges were rusty and jammed. Opening and closing it was difficult and Peridot usually had to throw all her weight onto it to get it to open fully so that she could enter. An empty mattress sat in the middle of what the blonde woman liked to call the living room-slash-bedroom. It was bare save her a few thin blankets tossed over the sides. A lone half-full bottle of Mountain Dew lay beside the mattress, probably flat and warm but still drinkable in Peridot's eyes. Her standards had been lowered considerably. 

Slipping off her filthy converse she'd managed to nab at a discount sale at the door and kicking them into a corner, she padded over to her makeshift bed and lay down with a long sigh. The blinds had been drawn earlier in the day when Peridot had woken up but had now fallen slightly, leaving slants of fading sunlight which danced over her tired body. She shrugged off her flannel shirt- currently the cleanest thing she owned- and picked up the bottle, uncapping it and taking a chug. Yeah, it was just as warm and flat as she thought it was going to be. A disgusting taste she had unfortunately grown used to. The 2 for 1 discount sale on fizzy drinks was both a blessing and a curse. 

Peridot lay still on her bed, arms tucked behind her head, glasses resting beside her. Her vision was blurry as she watched the sun set from beyond the shitty blinds in her room and she took in another deep breath and closed her tired eyes.

Her mind went back to her interview. She'd done well, she had been told. And of course she did, she'd been preparing herself for when the time came to get a job for years in advance. Her parents had drilled business into her. And yet, here she was, living on barely enough money, sleeping on an old mattress and drinking old Mountain Dew as if it were water. If her mother could see her now she'd have a fit. Peridot smiled at the thought as her mind drifted off and everything grew dark. 

•

The first thing Peridot felt as she woke up was a red hot searing pain that shot up through her left leg. She grunted as she sat up, rubbing a hand along the base of her pyjama trousers. The added pressure seemed to make the burning sensation worse and she swore loudly and began to ease off her trousers. Her leant backwards and frantically looked around for something to ease the pain. The scar of her left leg had began acting up again and she wasn't sure how long she could take it. The thing that had fixed her pain was now causing it. A full circle, she though bitterly as she pressed some ice cubes from the freezer directly onto the swollen red scar. She hissed in pain at the sudden contact which eventually faded into numbness. 

Peridot knew that this wasn't normal. That medical attention was probably needed for this. But she was more concerned about how she spent her money more than her shitty leg. If she could still walk to the store and back it was fine. If she could still limp around the city in the search for a job, it was all good. The ice cube began to melt into her hand and she watched with clouded green eyes as the water trickled down her leg and pooled over her socks. She did nothing to stop it. She only felt numbness now. 

Eventually the pain faded away and she stood up, leaning heavily on her right leg as she limped over to the kitchen. The kitchen was just another part of the room. It was stripped down to its bare essentials: a few cupboards, an oven, sink, fridge/freezer and a microwave. The microwave was an old model and every time she turned it on there was the lingering fear that it would explode or set her apartment on fire. But it never did. Thankfully. Or not. The cupboards were bare save from a few stray packets of instant noodles and some random vegetables that were quickly grabbed from the discount section of the supermarket. A lone packet of unpeeled potatoes lay in the back corner, the best before says that it expired yesterday but Peridot didn't have the energy to do anything with them. She settled on the chicken noodles instead. 

Peridot had never been very good at cooking. She'd always manage to fuck it up somehow, whether it be burning the food or putting too much of something into the recipe. Noodles were the one thing she could make which she couldn't fuck up, and have it still taste edible. And she normally ended up hoarding packets, buying out all the cheap packets from the store and stuffing them into the cupboards. She filled up at pot with water and set it into the stove, waiting for it to boil. And as she heard the faint sound of the water heating up she sat down on the greasy tiled floor and let her mind wander. 

She wasn't sure if her life could get any worse than this. Living off noodles was unhealthy and she knew they'd be consequences if she kept it up. But they were cheap and easy to make so she just shrugged it off and made a mental note to deal with the problem was it was actually causing her body harm. Or maybe she'd just slowly die off. Sounded nice. She wondered what her parents were doing right now. Her mother had moved away as soon as Peridot had left, not wanting the burden of her failure of a daughter anymore and she wasn't sure where her dad was. He probably stayed put. Maybe moved around the country and settled into a quiet new life on the coast. Peridot wished her life was like that. Peaceful. Quiet. Fulfilling. 

The loud pop of boiling water brought her back into reality and she staggered up to dump the noodles in and stir them in the pot. She'd have to wait another couple minutes for them to be ready so she set out a clean bowl on the counter and assumed her position on the floor. There was a stray stain on one of the tiles. It was a strange dark mustard colour although she really doubted it was the sauce. Mustard was fucking disgusting and she'd fight anyone who said otherwise. 

Minutes passed without much thought and soon Peridot was tucked back in her bed, munching on her warm noodles and staring at the far wall. Now that she had no money for electronics, save for her three-year-old phone which was currently charging in the corner, she'd had a lot of time to think. Think about her life. What was she doing? Would she be stuck like this forever? How would she get out of this shitty hole she had managed to dig herself into? Those were the questions that floated around her mind on an almost daily basis. And yet, no answers had come from them. Yet. Or never, she mused sadly. Getting a job seemed to be the only way to climb out of her financial hole but she couldn't see any opportunities for a decent one coming up anytime in the future. Even the Five Guy's at the end of her street wouldn't hire her. She was a lost cause for sure. 

Her noodles had gone cold by the time her mind cleared and she swore angrily but continued to scoop them into her mouth nonetheless. Cold noodles were a lot better than no noodles, no matter how gross they were. 

After her meal, she threw the bowl into the sink to wash for later and got changed into a pair of ratty jeans and her usual too-big green flannel shirt that she'd found at a charity shop. Peridot wasn't planning on going anywhere but getting changing out of her old clothes made her feel a little more productive. Instead, she lay back down on her mattress with her phone and waited impatiently for it to turn on. It was an older model, unable to download any of the newer apps, or anything at all at this point, but it was her only connection to the world outside. Her one, single news app which pinged whenever something had happened and notified her constantly at what was happening outside her own little bubble was the only thing keeping her sane.

The screen lit up as the device finally turned on and she immediately tapped on one of the only apps she had. Scrolling through the various articles the site thought she'd enjoy, she sighed lightly to herself and read them slowly. This was usually how she spent her days, reading useless news or watching shitty, constantly buffering videos on her YouTube app which hadn't been updated for at least two years. It was old and outdated and tended to block more videos than ones she could view but it was still one of the few sources of entertainment she had.

And that was when it finally clicked that Peridot was living possibly the worlds worst life. It clicked at how unhappy she felt, how she'd been ignoring the faint numbness in her chest for a long time. How she ignored all her dark thoughts that clouded her brain and replaced them with mind numbing YouTube prank videos and news articles which were probably fake. And she knew that her life was spiraling downhill. And that there was no way it could get better. But it could get worse, and it was. Peridot had been ignoring the small envelopes being slipped through her letterbox. They were probably from her landlord, eviction letters perhaps. She wasn't sure if she had paid the rent for this month. Or the ones prior. God, her mind was so numb how had she been living like this? 

Peridot groaned and the feeling of numbness swelling through her body and she felt the threat of tears fill the corners of her eyes. She angrily wiped at her eyes and sat up. No, she wasn't going down that road. She was fine. This was fine. Everything was okay. 

Slipping on her shoes and exiting the apartment she decided to clear her head before she did anything too drastic. She slammed the door shut behind her and set off down the path at a steady pace. The sun beat down on her back and her left leg seemed to ache at the sudden change in temperature but she walked through it with steely eyes and a straight face. She repeated the same phrase in her head. Everything was okay. 

But it wasn't. And she knew this. And she ignored it.


	3. II | The Things She Did

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot finds a cursed mirror and everything goes wrong.

Blood stained her clothing and dried on her trembling hands. Her legs seemed to move on their own, racing through the alleyways, her short stubby fingers clutched tight onto the metal handle of the mirror. What the fuck was she thinking? What the fuck did she just do??? Her mind raced as she turned a sharp corner and dove over a small wall, crashing into a pile of trash and rolling through it. She lifted herself up from the ground, panting. Her heart felt like it was going to jump out of her chest, beating heavily against her ribcage. Each beat sent adrenaline further through her body and her limbs twitched in anticipation. Peridot hadn't ran like that in years, mostly because she never really felt the need to and the fact that her leg had been acting up again. She never really was as fit as her parents wanted her to be. Well, she wasn't anything like her parents wanted her to be. 

Her leg throbbed angrily with each thud of her heart and she quickly ran a hand down it in an attempt to soothe it. Her tiny hands were ice cold and trembling. A few dry blood stains coated the soft skin and stuck underneath her fingernails and she flinched back as she saw it. She leant forward and groaned, combing her fingers through her hair and pulling at the thick blonde strands. She'd dropped the mirror she'd been holding in the fall and it now sat on top of an old saggy cardboard box. She stared at it with wide, scared eyes. 

Peridot wasn't sure what time it was. When she'd left her apartment it had been early afternoon but now the sky had grown in inky blue and tiny stars shone through the artificial light of the city. And she wondered where all that time had gone. What she'd done.Everything from finding the damn mirror to waking up covered in blood she knew wasn't her own was all one big event blurred together haphazardly. It made her head ache just thinking about it.

"What the fuck" she moaned and sagged down further into the trash she'd been sitting in for the last five minutes. She rubbed at her tired eyes and ignored the way she felt the blood scraping against her bare skin. Rubbing off her hands and onto her cheeks. She ran her hands down her shirt and hoped it wouldn't stain in an attempt to get rid of all the red. Her hand hovered over the mirror, reluctant to pick it up after what had just happened. 

The glass seemed to swirl, ripple, against her touch. It reacted to her touch, it wanted her to get closer. It wanted to use her. Peridot wondered what would happen if she threw it in the trash. Would it find her? Or would another innocent person find it? What if they had a good life? A decent job, a family, a proper education? She wouldn't dare wish this on anyone else. Peridot swallowed down her fear and grasped the handle firmly in her hand. Then she shakily stood up, shook the trash from her body and slowly shuffled back to her apartment.

Fishing out her keys from her pocket, she jammed it into the lock and twisted it. Throwing herself at the wood, it swung open and she stumbled forward, swearing loudly. The glass of the mirror rippled at her voice but she didn't notice as she flung herself onto her mattress and kicked her shoes off. The mirror fell silently onto the pillow beside her and she turned on her side to stare at it. 

"What are you?" She mumbled, reaching out a hand to tap her fingers against the glass. It swayed under her touch and she pulled back. And then she ran her fingers down the glass and listened as her fingernails tap tapped against the it. It reacted with her touch, the liquid glass flowing around her fingers like water. It felt cold. So cold that it actually felt wet on the pads of her fingers. 

Peridot carefully turned the object around so that the glass was facing down into her pillow and inspected the back. A large gem was stuck into the stone frame of the mirror, glowing gold in the faint artificial light of her apartment. It was a Lapis Lazuli stone. A deep royal blue colour with tiny gold flecks that shone. Literally shone. There was a deep crack in the middle, like it had been thrown or dropped in the past. Peridot wondered who would even make such a mirror. A cursed mirror, came the sudden realization that hit her like a punch in the gut. She'd just randomly picked up a fucking cursed mirror. God, she really was the unluckiest person alive right now. This day had gradually decreased from 'not so good' to 'literally just committed murder against my own will and I'm probably going to spend the rest of my life in prison if I get caught'. 

The blonde woman had hit a new low. She'd dug her hole even deeper and this time, there was absolutely no way she was going to get out of this. So, with a deep, shaky sigh she slowly unbuttoned her flannel shirt and slid it off, throwing it into the dirty washing pile situated at the far corner of her room. In her grey tank top and dark jeans, she trudged over to the kitchen. With trembling hands she opened the cutlery drawer which revealed a disappointing amount of knives, forks and spoons and picked out the biggest, sharpest knife she could find. And then she made her way back over to her bed and sat down in front of the mirror. 

If she was going down, it was coming with her. 

She jammed the blade into her chest and immediately felt a sharp wave of pain. She gasped and fell forward, spluttering as she coughed up a lungful of blood before she could even raise the knife once again. Okay, bleeding to death wasn't really the way she had hoped to go out but it was better than living with the guilt of murder. Or just living with that cursed piece of shit. She was loosing blood pretty fast, it poured out of the wound as her heart best faster to try and keep up with the loss. Her head began to feel light. And with that she used the last of her strength to ram the blade in to the gem and watched with a tired, crooked smile as it cracked further. Deeper. And the kept stabbing the stone until it crumbled, blue dust settling around the filthy blood stained sheets on her bed. And she let out a dry chuckle as she collapsed onto her pillow and waited for the black dots in the corners of her eyes to consumer her being. Her soul. 

She closed her eyes and waited to die. 

•

Peridot could feel herself floating. Or rather, falling. Her eyes were squeezed tightly shut and her muscled tensed as she felt herself descend through what? The air? Didn't feel like air. Felt more like she was drowning. The substance around her was thick and consuming. Her lungs begged for oxygen but every time she opened her mouth to breathe nothing would happen. Her body didn't seem to be moving, frozen in time. The only thing she felt was the faint throb in her chest and the distant angry pain in her leg. She was left to fall with a dysfunctional body and a clouded mind.

And then suddenly her eyes had opened up. She found that she wasn't floating, she was laying in an alley. It was dark. Maybe late afternoon. She couldn't remember how she got there. Her body was beginning to become more stable and she managed to stand up and lean against the wall. Heavily. The ache in her chest had now grown into a stinging pain that made her whole body throb and she groaned as she moved forward. Where? She wasn't sure. Home, perhaps. Wherever that was. But she stopped when she felt something clutched in between her fingers. Slowly, she tilted her head down and her eyes grew wide in fear. 

That fucking mirror. Was in her hand. Her blood stained hands- wait a second. She spun around and staggered back when she saw it. The body. 

It was the man who had interviewed her a day prior. She didn't know his name. His slick business suit was stained red with blood and his face, although hidden by the shadows of the buildings around them, was stuck in a permanent expression of fear. His grey clouded eyes wide with shock, this mouth agape in a silent scream. His chest split down vertically, insides spilling out onto the dirty pavement. And she felt the bile rise to her throat. 

A scream came from the other side of the alley. The sound echoed down the empty space and Peridot flinched. A woman as standing there on the other side, her hands raised, covering her mouth, her light grey eyes were staring straight at the body. And then darted over to Peridot. The culprit. The murderer. 

"H-hey" she shouted although it was weak and the blonde heard her voice crack halfway. "I'm calling the p-police" and she fumbled around her purse in search of her phone.

Peridot didn't know what to do. So she bolted down the streets and ignored the woman's cries. And she maneuvered her way through the back streets, leaping over walls, climbing over fences until she couldn't run anymore. Her leg was a painful reminder at how unfit she was and the pain in her chest was beginning to become unbearable. 

A silhouette stepped out from the shadows before Peridot could even catch her breath. The blonde stiffened and wondered if she could hide in the shadows but a gloved hand reached out and tapped her shoulder before she could eve begin to move. She jumped at the touch and let out a strangled sob. She was scared and tired and in so much pain. She didn't know what was going on, all she wanted was to do was sleep and sleep and never wake up. 

"Peridot" it was an unfamiliar voice. It belonged to an unfamiliar figure who loomed over the blondes tiny five-foot-something build. She stepped into the light and Peridot let out another sob, falling back against the closest wall. She hurt so much. This wasn't fucking fair. 

"Peridot calm down. Its okay" the voice was soft and velvety but had a tone of authority to it. And the woman who stood before her looked kind and welcoming with her slicked back blonde hair and golden suit. She had hazel eyes that glowed in the early evening sun and a light, happy smiled that calmed Peridot's nerves down considerably.

"Wh-who are you?" Peridot whispered and she could feel her eyes growing heavy. She leant against the wall, trying to keep her balance. 

"Nevermind that" the woman chuckled and moved a hand to brush Peridot's bangs from out of her eyes. "Its okay" she repeated "go to sleep, you'll wake up soon. Your time hasn't come yet". She smiled her bright toothy smile, pressed a soft kiss to her forehead and stepped back into the shadows. 

And Peridot felt herself fall to the ground with a dull thud. Her vision growing darker and her winding thoughts breaking off and floating into the air. 

•  
The sun shone through her window and she groaned and turned over in her bed, covering her face up with her blankets to avoid getting blinded by the light. She buried her face in her pillow and let out as deep breath and she settled back down into the covers. 

Then a sudden realization hit her and she shot up, gasping. She pressed a hand against her chest. Nothing but as faint ache as she pressed her fingers into the scar that had formed. She looked around. Everything seemed normal, like the previous day had never actually happened. Her flannel lay beside her bed, clean of blood and she stared at it as her mind began to race. She frantically looked around her room. The knife lay on the floor beside a random bottle of fizzy drink she'd forgotten to throw away. She slowly grasped it and lifted it towards her. And plunged in into her chest. 

Nothing happened. No blood. No searing pain. She sat on her bed clad in her tank top and jeans, pressing the knife against her chest and waiting for something that was not going to happen. 

Peridot let out a sob. It was quiet at first but as tears started rolling down her freckled cheeks she began to let it all out. Years and years of isolation, neglect and abuse had led her up to this moment. And now she couldn't even die. She sat and cried until she had nothing left and then she lay back down and stared up at her ceiling absently. Wondering what she was going to do now. She felt so empty. 

The mirror. It had been thrown down on the floor just above her bed when she had collapsed last night and now lay broken. She didn't notice as she sighed and stared into the void, ignoring the slight tapping noises as stone pieces began to build themselves back into the frame. And the gem in the middle glowed, sensing Peridot's sorrow. The glass rippled and changed and then suddenly. A figure appeared. A pair of wide glassy eyes stared out through the lense. And then a voice, so quiet Peridot barely heard it in her stupor. 

"Hello?"


	4. III | The Things She Believed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot is stubborn.

"Um. Excuse me?" Peridot shot up from her bed, frantically looking around for the voice. She was so certain that it was real, not just something her head had made up for her own comfort. She rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands. She felt drained. 

"H-hello?" There it was! Again, so quiet that Peridot just barely heard it over the mechanical humming of cars driving past her apartment and the overall noise of the city. 

She rubbed the sore spot on her chest as she moved forward. It had scarred, she had found out bitterly. A constant reminder of all the shit she'd gone through in the span of 24 hours. Her life had crumbled to pieces before her very eyes. And now she couldn't even die. From what she knew. There had to be a way, she just had to find out how. Then she'd be free. 

Peridot spotted the glimmer of the mirror from the corners or her peripheral and she immediately spun around and grabbed the object, frantically turning it over. The last time she'd seen this thing it had been shattered and now here it was, sitting comfortably on her bedroom floor, fixed, looking like she didn't try and smash the damn thing with a knife literally less than a day ago. The gem on the back was still cracked, she inspected with a small crooked smile. She figured that thing must be the power source so destroying it would be the only way to make sure the mirror didn't ruin another persons life. She reached back for her knife but before her digits could wrap around the handle once again, she heard another noise come from the mirror. 

"Hey!! Stop that". It was the voice again. This time louder. A lot louder. And she spun the mirror back around, her hand frozen above the reflective glass.   
There, inside the mirror, was a woman. She had dark caramel skin covered in light blue and gold freckles with deep royal blue hair and wide, glazed over eyes that seemed to reflect in the light. Her pupils were a slightly darker colour, barely visible but still there, staring straight up at Peridot. In other words she was beautiful and mysterious and the blonde felt her heart flutter a little as she opened her mouth to respond.

"Uhh. Ummmm" came her very intelligent reply. 

The woman seemed to smirk at her from inside her mirror prison, her thin lips quirking up into the tiniest smile. And then they fell just as quickly. Peridot wasn't even sure she actually smiled and continued to open and close her mouth like a goldfish in the hopes that her brain would start working again. 

"Wh-who the fuck are you?" The blonde woman asked, finally getting her mouth to work. It had finally settled upon her that this strange woman looking up at her was the cause of all her suffering. She was the reason some innocent man was dead. She was also probably the reason why she herself wasn't dead at this particular moment. A surge of anger shot through her chest and with that, came quickly growing confidence. She picked up the mirror, clutching it tightly between her fingers. "Yeah, who do you think you are coming into my life and controlling me like that? That was you wasn't it? The thing that made me kill someone? What the fuck!?" Her voice gradually grew louder and louder as she ranted on. 

The blue woman sighed loudly and ruffled her hair. The movement made the tiny golden specks in her thick hair glitter and Peridot almost lost it once again. But she stopped herself from looking at her like that. What was she doing? Useless lesbian.

"I was trying to help you-"

"HELP ME?" Peridot roared, throwing back her hands dramatically "how was murdering someone helping me? How was ruining my life fucking. Helping me!" And grabbed the knife again, which had been thrown back down onto her bed in her own anger. 

"I was-" 

"And tell me this strange magical woman; who else have you cursed with this little act of yours? How many innocent fucking people have you broken? How many have you killed?" She interrupted once again, turning the mirror back around to face the gem "because this is where it ends. I'm going to kill you an then I'm going to kill myself". 

"WAIT" 

The loud scream pierced Peridot's ears and she stopped just as the blade of the weapon scratched against the blue surface of the gem. 

"Wait for one fucking second and let me explain what's going on. Please". Her voice sounded quieter now. More distant, upset. Resigned. 

Peridot had won. Maybe she'd let her talk for now but killing this thing was surely the only way she could get out of this situation. So she nodded and let her continue.

"You've been a target for the Diamonds for many years, Peridot" she began and Peridot stiffened at the sound of her name. How did see know it? Or was it just another magical woman thing? "They like to target people like you. And then they manipulate them to do terrible, sadistic things. That murder wasn't me, it was the work of a Diamond. I guess you picked up my mirror along the way? I think they want me back too. To punish me, even more than they already have. I've done some bad things under their control Peridot, I just want to help you". It was a plead. She was pleading with her. 

"What's in it for me?" Peridot responded. 

"what's in it fo- Peridot this is serious! This is a matter of life or death. You have to get away from them before something bad happens" the woman replied exasperatedly once Peridot had turned the mirror back around. "They killed my family, Peridot. I've been stuck in this mirror for two hundred years. Please, let me do this for you!"

Peridot scoffed "its not like I have anything worth living for anyway" she shrugged nonchalantly. The woman threw her a sad glance. 

"Well, life is still precious no matter what! Don't take it for granted like I did. I tried to fight one of the Diamonds. She was the youngest, the weakest. And I was so confident in my abilities. And yet she still threw me off. Killed everyone I loved and then traded me off to her sister" the woman said bitterly. "But now I have a second chance! And its you!" 

"Me?" Peridot asked stupidly, pointing the knife towards herself. 

The woman nodded. 

"Hmm" the blonde hummed in thought, trying to grasp all the new information she had just heard. "I'm not sure if I can believe you" she finally stated after a short pause. 

The woman's glassy eyes widened. Peridot stared down at her through slitted eyes. This woman was pretty much setting her up to be brutally murdered, from what she had just heard. And as much as she wanted to be off this stupid fucking planet for good, being stabbed didn't really sound too appealing. Especially after experiencing it first hand. How bad could these Diamonds be anyway? What, would she get trapped in a mirror? 

"What? How can you not believe me after all this? Are you really that stupid?" The woman yelled, balling her tiny hands into fists and shaking them up at Peridot angrily. The frame of the mirror shook and the glass began to dance around her small form. 

Peridot growled. "If anything, you're the stupid one for getting yourself stuck in a mirror." She watched as the tiny woman got angrier and chuckled to herself in triumph "whatever happens I'll be fine. I don't need to dumb mirror witch to tell me what to do". 

"Okay, fine. But don't come running back to me when everything goes to shit" the frame stopped shaking in her hand as the woman crossed her arms over her chest. 

"Yeah, sure". 

And the mirror was placed back down on the bed. Peridot stood up and stretched her tired limbs and ran a had through her greasy hair. Okay, maybe a shower was in need, she thought to herself as she quickly grabbed some spare clothes and threw them into the bathroom. Before entering she threw a blanket over the mirror and ignored the tiny yelp that omitted from the object after doing so and then locked the door behind her. Not that the lock would really do anything, you could probably open it if you shoved the door back hard enough anyways.

Her bathroom was mouldy and grey and she sighed as she stripped her clothes off and threw them down onto the damp floor. She couldn't remember if she'd payed for hot water and stepped into the water only to find it ice cold. With a small Shrug she began lathering shampoo into her thick hair. 

Once finished with the task of cleaning herself, she dressed in her usual jeans and flannel and entered back into the main room of her apartment. 

A familiar figure was standing there, tall and thin. Piercing yellow eyes stared straight at the tiny blonde and she gulped. In one of her glove clad hands was the mirror. And inside the blue woman sat angrily yelling curses. 

"We meet again Peridot" she said in a velvet voice. "I didn't think it would be so soon but here we are". Her plump lips curled up into a smile and a shiver ran down Peridot's spine. 

"I-i suppose you're here for me?" Peridot asked, mentally slapping herself at asking literally the dumbest question anyone could ask in a situation like this. She blamed it on fear. 

"Correct" she grinned and Peridot could see slightly pointed teeth protrude from her lips. "But also this" she held up the mirror and Lapis screamed. "Thank you for leading me to her! She's been missing for years, my sister was getting worried. You have both mine and Blues gratitude." Peridot started shaking. 

"N-no problem?"

The woman laughed and held out her free hand to the smaller blonde. "Now" she purred "would you come with me?"

And Peridot froze where she stood. Wasn't this who the strange magical mirror lady was warning her about. Was she a Diamond? Probably. But what did it matter anymore? She'd already proven herself too stubborn to take back anything she'd said so she reached out her own shaky hand. And the larger gloved one enveloped her own own as she was dragged forward into a firm handshake. Her arm felt like it was about to dislocate out of its socket as she shook the woman's hand but she kept a straight face, refusing to show any more fear. Refusing to admit that maybe the mirror lady was right and she couldn't trust the yellow clad woman. But it was too late to change fate. 

She she accepted it with a firm handshake. And then everything went black. the last thing she could remember was a muffled scream and the impact of her body hitting the stone floor of her apartment.

•

"Is she awake yet?" A voice, impatient, gruff, deep. A large sturdy hand hovered above Peridot's face. Probably checking for breathing? Why? She wasn't dead. It removed itself to rest on her chest, just above the scar. The voice hummed. It was gravelly and even in Peridot's stupor she found it unsettling. 

"Hey! Stop touching her!" The sound of flesh hitting flesh. An angry smack on the hand. The deep voice yelped in surprise and the pressure on her chest decreased. Peridot breathed out slowly, steadily. Her eyes we're glued shut. She wanted to know what was going on but refused to open her eyes. Her heart thud in her chest and she silently felt the familiar knot of anxiety grow.

"What? Its not my fault she's taking so damn long to wake up! How long have I been sat here now? At least three days". 

"If I'd known you'd be so grabby I would've stayed longer" the other voice, lighter, happier "you can't just grab someone and expect them to miraculously wake up you brute!"

A fake dramatic gasp followed by what sounded like a playful shove "you wound me, skinny. You know I've never been patient enough for this! Yellow did a shitty job picking an escort for this one". 

"Yeah, poor thing. Having to stick with you for so long". 

Another smack. This time louder, more painful. A surprised cry. 

"Fuck you, Jasper". It sounded light, not a trace of anger. Only annoyance. 

And then a sigh.

"Anyways, listen. I gotta go, you know how Carnie gets when I'm away. She's so damn possessive but I still love her" a chuckle. 

"Yeah, yeah. Tell 'er I said hi". 

"Will do! See ya later, yeah?" 

"Mmhm". 

Peridot's eyes fluttered open involuntary at the sound of a supposed door being closed. And as her eyes began to adjust she noticed a woman sitting by her side. A steady amber gaze meet her own. A mouth filled with sharp fangs twisted into a smile. 

"Welcome back, runt".


	5. IV | The Things They Said

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot starts to question if she made the right decision...

Peridot blinked, her sore eyes straining against the artificial lights lining the ceiling of the room. She rubbed at them with the palms of her hands and tried to clear her clouded mind as she took in her surroundings. She was in a room, that was obvious. It was medium sized with peeling yellow paint on the walls and an ugly cream carpet covered in miscellaneous stains. It looked like a bedroom or some kind of hospital room with barely anything in it sans for the tiny bed she was in, which was tucked into the far corner, and several random metal chairs scattered around. One of the chairs was occupied by who Peridot could only describe as the biggest woman she had ever seen in her entire life. Her thick thighs filled the seat, her muscles bulged under the tight red tank top she was wearing. Her skin was a dark apricot with several long pale stripes covering part of her face and arms. Her hair was bleached a very pale blonde and her eyes were a striking amber colour that looked very inhuman. 

And it dawned on Peridot that she probably wasn't that. Human. The other woman smiled and two long fangs protruded from her thick lips. Her cat-like gaze was on the smaller, scanning her fragile body from head to toe. She looked almost hungry in the way she was staring at her. Peridot gulped. 

"So" the large woman sat up straight in her tiny chair. Her voice was gruff and a little impatient. "What did you do to piss Yellow off so much?" 

"Huh? Excuse me?" 

"What did you do? Why are you here?" She growled low in her throat. It wasn't a noise Peridot thought any human was capable of making. 

"I don't know" she replied quietly. 

"What do you mean you don't know? You had to have done something bad to get into this shithole!" 

"I didn't do anything!" Peridot shot back, her mind reeling. What did she do? Apparently Yellow Diamond had had her eyes on her for quite some time, according to Lapis. But could she really trust Lapis? It was technically her fault she was in this mess in the first place. 

The other woman sighed loudly "whatever" she spat and relaxed her tense shoulders, running a large hand through her thick mane of hair. "Just. Get up, we have work to do".

Peridot slowly slid the thin blanket off her body. She was wearing her usual black tank top and jeans and was thankful that nothing had changed. Getting out the bed was difficult, her legs were weak and trembled under her weight. Her left leg began to throb as she limped over the the waiting woman, who grunted impatiently and dragged her out of the door and into a long, narrow hallway. It was a lot darker. The walls and floor were made of stone and several rows of small hanging lights were placed haphazardly on the ceiling but did little to light the path as the pair walked deeper into the hallway. Everything was quiet, the only noise were the faint tapping of Jaspers boots on the stone and the shuffle of Peridot's socked feet. She wasn't sure where her shoes were but was too afraid to ask at this point. 

Jasper grunted again and her glowing amber eyes snapped onto the small girl. Her mouth was in a thin, neutral line. "So what happened to your leg?" Her great head nodded down towards her limping state and Peridot stiffened. 

This woman was working for Yellow Diamond. The woman who in turn, had kidnapped her. For the greater good? Peridot wasn't sure yet. But Jasper seemed to be a genuinely okay person, and she had asked out of curiosity, not malice. There was no sign of any malicious intention in her face as she had asked but her voice did sound a little stiff and robotic. Peridot guessed she was just trying to make conversation but the topic was something Peridot still wasn't comfortable to talk about. But she guessed she could entertain her a little. 

"Its kinda personal" she started off with her shaky voice. She was a fucking ant compared to this woman. She could certainly crush her head like a watermelon between her thighs. And somehow she thought that was kinda hot. "B-but" she shook those thoughts out of her head before it got too out of hand "the gist of it is that I've always had really shitty legs. I used to have trouble walking on them. Putting pressure on them was really painful so I got surgery to try and ease it" she chuckled dryly "guess it didn't work that well because it still fucking hurts". 

Jasper nodded along, her lips pulled into a frown "where does it hurt?" She asked after a while of staring the smaller down. They had stopped walking. 

Peridot leant over and rubbed the spot just below her knee on her left leg, tracing the line of the scar with her fingers over the fabric of her jeans. Jasper nodded once again. Her great mane of hair fell over her eyes and she used a large clawed hand to gently move it back into place. 

She hummed to herself in thought. Then she grabbed onto Peridot's arm and continued to trek down the hallway. Peridot followed quietly, trying to keep up with Jaspers long strides the best she could by frantically limping along. Jaspers grip on her arm softened a little as they arrived at the end of the hallway. Before them stood a large door. It was carved delicately into the far wall, grey as the stone around them save for the golden metal trim. In the middle was a large yellow diamond that seemed to shine in the artificial light as the pair grew closer and eventually stopped before it. 

Jasper held out a hand, signalling for her to stay put and then knocked loudly on the door. She waited with her thick arms crossed over her chest as the sound of scrambling feet could be heard from the other side. And then it opened. The door creaked loudly on its hinges, one long groan as a small woman emerged from the stone. She was tall but not as tall as the mighty Jasper, and thin as a stick. Her sharp nose pointed towards the big brute before her and she frowned. 

Peridot studied the new woman with a narrowed gaze. She wore a yellow dress shirt with a golden bowtie tied neatly around her thin neck. The sleeves were rolled high up her arms, revealing her tiny scar covered arms. A tight belt was wrapped around her waist, holding up a pair of black trousers with yellow diamonds on the knees and a pair of yellow flats were on her feet. A pearl necklace was placed around her neck, a scar, much like Peridot's, could be seen on her chest, peeking up from under her shirt. 

Her hazel eyes snapped from Jaspers to Peridot's and the blonde in turn threw her an awkward smile. The woman returned it with a grim smile and pushed Jasper out of the way.

"I see you've finally awoken" she clasped her pale hands together and grinned. Peridot would never admit it out loud but her voice irritated her. It was weird and high pitched, not like her own nasally one but still equally as strange. "Come, come Yellow and Blue diamond have been waiting for you" her thin hands brushed over Peridot's freckled arm as she ushered her forwards. 

Jasper was launched out of her daze at the wording of the other woman's statement. "Wait, Blue diamonds here?" She asked frantically, pacing up towards the door to block the way. "Why is she here she has a court to run?"  
The smaller woman shoved Jasper back and pushed Peridot through the door. Before it shut, Peridot's could see Jasper mouth 'what have you done?' To her. The stone door shut and Peridot was left to deal with her fate. 

The room was a lot brighter than the hallway and it took Peridot a long time to adjust her eyes to to white light. The other woman carefully guided her forward. She looked more nervous now as she ran her petite hands through her slicked back golden hair. Her paper cut lips were pursed as she dragged Peridot along. They came to an open doorway not long after and the woman knocked politely on the wall and waited for what Peridot supposed was a response. 

And then a familiar voice called out from the other side that sent chills down Peridot's spine. "Come in" it echoed, and Peridot could see the pair of yellow heeled boots from where she was standing. She shivered and tried not to think about uncomfortable she was right now as she followed the woman into the room. 

There she was. Yellow Diamond in all her glory wearing a long yellow jacket with spiked shoulder pads and looking even more intimidating than Peridot had remembered. Her sharp eyes immediately locked onto the small blonde and her face lit up. She nudged the other equally as tall figure who sat beside her then clapped her hands. 

"That will be all, Pearl". 

"Y-yes my Diamond" she bowed her head and scurried out of the room. 

The figure beside Yellow Diamond turned to face Peridot and her almond shaped eyes widened at the sight of her. They ran across her body, cold and calculating but eventually softened as they spotted the scar on her chest. 

Peridot figured that she was the elusive Blue Diamond who had been mentioned several times. She had dark skin and snow white hair. Large dark circles sat under her icy blue eyes. She wore a blue headscarf and a matching robe trimmed with silver and covered in a tiny diamond pattern. A diamond necklace hung above her chest, much like the one Yellow wore. Although she didn't seem like her counterpart at all. With her held an air of sadness, her movements were slow as she stood up. She towered above Peridot and the smaller gulped and bowed her head, not sure what to do. Peridot wasn't sure what was actually going on but she had to give these two giant woman the right impression or there would definitely be consequences. 

Blue Diamond chuckled as Peridot craned her neck to look up at her. "So small," her voice was low and soothing and Peridot immediately felt calmness wash over her. "Yet so brave" she placed a hand on Peridot's shoulder and smiled "thank you for recovering Lapis Lazuli for me". 

"Its no problem" she shrugged hesitantly. And then quietly added "um. If you don't mind me asking... What's the deal with her? Like, she tried to convince me to free her? What would happen if I did? Is she bad?"

The blue woman laughed and Yellow Diamond arose from her throne to stand next to her fellow leader. Her arms were crossed stubbornly over her chest, gloved fingers tapping her forearms. 

"Lapis Lazuli tried to murder a Diamond. Our sister. We had tried to punish her but her curses seemed to only make her stronger, she can't be controlled. Trapping her in that mirror was the only way to conceal her" Yellow said and sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose before continuing "apparently a group of rebels stole her mirror after the war and we lost track of her for a couple of decades". 

"That is until you found her" Blue Diamond continued. "Now we can properly monitor her again to make sure she doesn't try anything" the dark woman cast a sidewards glance at Yellow, who scoffed in return. "We're still not sure if she still has contact with the rebels but if they ever happen to come back to retrieve her, we'll be ready". 

"Rebels?" Peridot seemed to be feeling particularly brave at this given moment. 

Both Diamonds frowned. They glanced nervously at each other before Yellow slammed her hand down onto the wall and stepped forward and lean down towards Peridot "that's enough questions. Take the door on the left and go back to you assigned escort. She'll tell you what to do next". 

Peridot nodded, quietly apologizing for speaking out of hand and scurrying out of the door Yellow had pointed out. She speed-walked out back into the dark hallway she'd come from and almost crashed into the waiting Jasper. 

Jasper in turn grabbed tightly onto her shoulders and checked her body over. For what exactly? Peridot wasn't sure. Did she think the Diamonds had hurt her. Weren't they just here to help her in the afterlife or something?

"Are you okay?" She asked as she stepped back to glare at the smaller.

Peridot nodded, ignoring the way her legs shook as she stood. Ignoring the way Jasper glanced at them briefly before turning and ushering her to follow. 

Everything has happened too quickly there was a lot for Peridot to take in. Like what was the deal with those rebels? And Lapis Lazuli? Was she really as bad as the Diamonds made her out to be? She probably was.

But right now Peridot wasn't sure what to think of who to believe. Shaking those thoughts out of her clouded mind she raced after Jasper and hoped for the best.


	6. V | The Things They Gave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FLASHBACK CHAPTER

The blue hooded woman stared down at the young rebellious girl with a look of disappointment. In turn the young girl glared at her, her blue diamond patterned dress blew in the faint breeze on the room. One single window at the far back was open as wide as it could go, an icy breeze drifted into the room but the girl didn't even shudder as it hit her exposed skin. She was angry. Too angry to care about who she was now talking to. Too angry to think of what the consequences for her actions might be. She stood before the woman defiantly, her tiny dark hands curled up into fists so tight her fingernails dug little crescent shapes into her side palms. 

"Lapis Lazuli" she jerked at her name. It was said with such a sadness to it, Lapis almost softened her expression but then as she looked up into her Diamonds bright blue eyes her anger grew. 

The taller woman towered over her, reaching up a great hand to adjust her headscarf before bringing it back down to rest upon her lap. Lapis squirmed, uncomfortable with all the silence, wanting something to happen. A plan was beginning to form in her mind. It was risky, sure, but executed right, she'd be able to be free. 

And where would you go? Her mind asked. You don't have anywhere. Your families gone! 

Okay, that was a setback, but surely living under the Diamonds control was like living in an eternal hell. 

"Lapis Lazuli you have dishonoured your Diamonds once again, and for that, you must be punished" came the slow, steady voice of the tall woman who sat before her on a great silver throne. Her voice echoed around the whitewashed walls of the room. Lapis glanced out the window and wondered if sue could make a run for it. Probably not.

The two made eye contact again. Icy blue crashing against dull grey. The Diamond smiled sadly, pushing herself up calmly from her throne. Standing up, she was even taller, it made Lapis seem even more insignificant than she had before. This was it. She had to get out. Now. 

Lapis frantically looked around the room. There was nothing. Literally nothing except for the twin thrones that sat next to each other by the far wall. Nothing except the window that kept taunting her. She wanted to jump. Maybe it was the doorway to her freedom. Or a fall to her death. Her mind raced, and her legs started to move as Blue Diamond began to draw closer. Lapis short, quick steps echoed around the room and she silently cursed herself for not making it more stealthy. But then again, she wasn't wearing any shoes and the stone was this weird marble so there was no way she could've exited without a little noise. 

As soon as Blue Diamond caught on to what she was doing, the woman growled and lunged forward, trying to grab the smaller before she slid out of her grasp forever. With one last push of effort Lapis managed to slide out of the open window. She saw her Diamonds face peek out from the ledge. She was smiling, laughing even. And that was when Lapis realised she made a mistake. A big mistake. 

Her cold body hit the rocks below her hard enough for her spine to snap in two. And she cried out as her vision faded into black and her mind turned to nothing. 

•

A hand ran delicately through her hair, pulling out the knots that had begun to form and smoothing it down so that it lay flat against her head. For a second Lapis thought that it was her mothers gentle touch and a small smile graced her thin lips as memories of her childhood flooded back into her clouded mind. She allowed herself the luxury of thinking back on those good times. Back when she had a loving family and a good life. And how it had all gone away from one stupid action. From one stupid thing her family did. Something she now had to take the blame for. Now Lapis Lazuli had to deal with everything her family had done, all because she'd been at the wrong place at the wrong time. 

Her stormy eyes snapped open and the hand on top of her head flinched at the sudden movement. As she slowly began to gain consciousness, the hand retracted itself from her hair. Lapis felt the soft cotton sheets on top of her fragile body, and the plump pillow that her head was rest upon. And then she began to feel icy coldness surround the soft skin on her wrists. Her eyes slowly moved down and had to hold back a choked sob as she saw the shackles wrapped around them. She followed the chains, they were attached to the head of the bed, cold steel, unbreakable. She struggled to sit up from her awkward position on the bed, the sharp pain in her spine forced her to relax her body as she used her forearms to sit herself up. She rest her back against the pillow as wet tears streamed down her cheeks. She hurt so much.

The figure beside her moved to stand up and Lapis didn't even need to turn her head to figure out who it was. Her dark blue robes rustled as she moved her body closer towards Lapis. Her icy glare bore holes into the side of Lapis' head, a look of anger. Disappointment. 

She sighed and ran a large hand down her face. The bags under her almond shaped eyes seemed to grow. "Lapis Lazuli, you have been in my care for less than a week" she began, exasperated. Lapis smirked through her own pain, seeing the one of the most powerful supernatural beings in existence ranting about a rebellious teenager almost made this whole cursed thing bearable. "And you've already gotten into more trouble than most people who've been here for thousands of years. I've tried to brush it off, but after that little stunt you pulled back there" she said those words wit a hint of poison, and Lapis flinched "I'll have to punish you". 

Lapis knew that this was coming. And frankly, she didn't give a shit what this woman did to her. Maybe some time trapped in a prison cell would be god for her. It also meant not having to listen to her Diamond rant about every little thing that bothered her. Like, who even cares if some dumb servant rebels against her diamond? Honestly?? That's rad as fuck! Lapis wished she'd thought of that a lot sooner. 

She didn't move a muscle as she watched her Diamond leave the room without another word. A wave of calmness washed over her although the voice in the back of her mind reminded her that it wouldn't be long until she came back. The aching feeling along her spine made her squirm, trying to find a comfortable position. Her sore back rest against the plump pillow but did little to ease the pain. Lapis wondered if she was supposed to feel pain. Wasn't she technically dead? Or maybe this was the punishment? A broken spine. Nice. 

The shackles bound tight around her wrists made it hard to move but eventually she managed to slide her way to the end of the bed. A single glass of water sat on the small raised platform next to her bed, just out of reach. Blue must've placed it there before she'd left but Lapis didn't remember it being there. She instinctively raised her arm and leant towards it as much as her back would allow. Her fingers stretched forward but it was just out of reach. The pad of her middle finger brushed against the cold glass but it did little to quench her fatigue. 

The chains were quite short, Lapis wasn't able to extend them far from the bed and grunted with effort as she placed her bare foot against the icy floor. She urged her body forward, but was still unable to reach it. Had her Diamond done this on purpose of was it just a miscalculation? Was this, in fact, her punishment? Lapis couldn't be sure. 

"This is bullshit, is what it is" she mumbled angrily as she sat herself back onto the bed and glared at the glass of water as if it could see her. She brought her hand up to scratch the back of her head, bringing her hand over to rub against her stinging eyes. A small splashing sound filled her ears and she dropped her arms to the side and stared at the water in disbelief. 

It didn't move a single inch after that. The tall glass of refreshing beverage just sat there on the small wooden platforms, just inches out of her reach. Lapis slowly raised an arm again and stretched out her fingers to rub at her bruised spine. The water began to bob up and down along with her movements and she gasped. 

"Maybe if I-" she raised her arm higher and a large clump of liquid rose with it. With a satisfied grin, she moved her hand towards herself and the water followed. 

Lapis' fist eventually hit her chest and the water fell unceremoniously onto the stone below. "Fuck" she swore loudly and sighed as she began to repeat the action of raising the water from the glass. This time she managed to get it close enough and reached out to dink it from the air. It was awkward, and Lapis was sure she looked as ridiculous as she felt but as she drained the final drops, her body immediately felt better. 

She stared down as her hands. They were pretty average hands. Medium sized palms with long digits, a few scars here and there, tiny pale streaks across her dark skin. Upon further inspection she also noticed tiny blue freckles sprinkled around the skin on her wrists. So she really did have this whole blue theme going on. Nice. 

"Water powers, huh?" She said to herself, flexing her hands as grinning as the remaining water in the glass moved along with it. "Maybe this won't be so bad after all". Her mind reeled and she began to plan out how she could use these newfound powers to her advantage. For one, she was pretty sure Blue Diamond couldn't control water at will. So if she got good enough she could overpower her superior and break free. And then what? Came that little doubting voice once again. She was free, yes, but where would she go?

Her thoughts dissipated as the door on the other side of the room slammed open and several tall, muscular woman barged in. They each wore the typical guard uniforms; tank tops with imprinted diamonds in the middle, thick belts and tough looking jeans with combat boots. Human clothes, Lapis mused. Maybe they were once human too. One dark skinned woman with one eye and curly lavender hair grabbed her arm and pulled her up. The shackles had been taken off and were now in the firm grasp of a similar looking guard. She had short, cropped hair a stripe of lighter skin across her eyes. Her yellow eyes met with Lapis' and a flash of sympathy came across her features before leaving just as fast as it came. Lapis blinked and turned back towards the woman holding her so tightly it was sure to bruise her fragile arms. They began to Jove towards the door.

The guards pulled her out of the room and into the long winding corridor of the building. A staircase Lapis had never noticed before stood to the side and they descended the tiny stone steps with ease. 

"Grab the keys will ya, Skinny?" The guard holding her asked, turning back to her companion. The other nodded and turned to leave into a separate room where another, equally as big figure sat. 

Lapis was thrown haphazardly into a cell and she sighed as the door was shut and the click of a key echoed around her empty head. This wasn't the first time she'd been locked up, and it certainly wouldn't be the last, but this time she had a goal. Every day around lunchtime, or what Lapis suspected was lunchtime, a guard would arrive at her cell and give her a pitiful slice of bread, some miscellaneous spread and half a glass of water. Lapis was practically dead, she didn't need to eat but eating made her feel more human. Like she was back home, living out her mortal life instead of being stuck in a compound with a crazy blue lady and her weird servants. 

Everyday Lapis began to practice using her newfound powers. And everyday she got closer and closer to her goal. She was going to overthrow Blue Diamond or she was going to die trying. Again.


	7. VI | The Things She Learned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shit hits the fan

Peridot would be lying if she said she wasn't half scared to death right now. Jasper's large hand rest upon her trembling shoulders. They were warm and honestly, the only thing grounding her at this moment. Her mind had began to grow hazy, too many clustered thoughts flying around. All of them were negative. She was so completely sure she was going to die for real now. Or at least, spend the rest of eternity in this hell. Her mind reeled at the thought of that and she began to feel sick, recalling Yellow Diamonds hard glare and sadistic smile. 

Her companion squeezed her shoulder lightly, probably in an attempt to comfort her but it did little to help Peridot's growing anxiety. Everything had happened so fast. The mirror, Yellow Diamond appearing to her, taking her to this compound, and now Jasper, guiding her to what she figured would be where she would live out the rest of her days. Would she be put to work? Would she be forced to fight? She shook those thoughts out of her head before they became too dangerous and instead focused on the hallway before her. 

It was lighter than before, perhaps days went by in this compound. There were several windows spread throughout, low light shining through them and casting deep shadows in the corners of the hallway. Peridot glanced up at Jasper. The taller woman looked serious, her expression was neutral as she looked onward. With her held an air of determination. The yellow diamond on her tank top was old and wrinkled and an odd colour. Peridot decided to ignore it and move her curiosity to the windows. She could barely see outside, they were high up, close to the ceilings but she knew if she stood on her tiptoes she would be able to see more clearly. 

There were doors lining the hallway, each with its own distinct number. If Peridot listened carefully she could hear noises coming from the other side. This did little to lessen her anxiety. In fact, a loud scream came from the door closest to her mere seconds later and she jumped and cowered behind the brute of a woman as someone stumbled out of it. 

Jasper sighed and pushed the blonde behind her, turning to face the seemingly injured person. They were androgynous, with light blue hair and pale freckled skin. They wore a blue turtleneck jumper tucked into a pair of khaki coloured jeans and some black boots. A pair of rectangular glasses rest on their nose, covering their icy gaze. The turtleneck was stained in blood, oozing out of an open wound. The cotton was stuck in the gash, soaked in blood, and Jasper stepped forward to tear a hole in the garment and inspect it fully. The person only whimpered in response.

"How did this happen?" Jasper asked bluntly. 

"I was working on Yellow Diamonds commission and" they stopped to flinch as another wave of searing pain hit them "a-and I guess you could say it kinda backfired. On me. Fuck this hurts". 

The pale figure grew even paler as more blood flowed out. And now that Peridot thought about it, there were tiny bits lodged into their flesh that looked like tiny pieces of glass. Or metal. She felt like she was going to throw up. 

"Yeah I think it would" Jasper replied and rolled her eyes. "Just go to the medical block and someone will help you there" she dismissed them easily with a wave of her giant hand. 

"OK s-sorry for, ah fuck, wasting your time" they bowed their head and limped off down the corridor. 

Peridot stood, too stunned at the scene that had just played out in front of her to move. Medical block? Was that where she had ended up? Probably. 

"Hey, um, why didn't you help them back there?" She asked as Jasper continued to pull her along. 

The taller woman's amber eyes cut through Peridot as she looked down "its every man for himself down here" she grunted "and that was Apatite, they're always injuring themselves one way or another, you get used to it". 

"Are they gonna be okay?" Peridot glanced worriedly back down the corridor. 

"Yeah, they can't die anyways. Blue Diamond cursed them to live out an eternity building shit for her and her sisters to use as weapons" the buff woman averted her gaze and placed her hand firmly on Peridot's skinny shoulder as she began to shake again. "They can still feel pain but they can't die". 

"I don't think I can do either" the blonde mumbled. 

Jasper hummed in response and the conversation died down. The only noises were the quiet clicking of shoes against stone and the distant sound of engines coming from another part of the compound. Peridot tried to clear her head and compose herself. She mentally cursed as she felt her eyes prickle with fresh tears. 

It had dawned on her just how much she had now fucked up. Not listening to Lapis had led both of them into hell and she wasn't sure what she was going to do. Now she was only a slave to her Diamond, and Lapis had once again become a prisoner to Blue. 

Peridot was pulled out of those thoughts as she felt Jasper stop walking and did the same. They were stood outside another door. It looked the same as the other ones, plain and black with metal numbers nailed to the top and a tiny coloured diamond symbol next to the handle. Peridot glanced up to read the numbers.

2F5L 5XG

She hadn't noticed the letters before now, too deep in her own thoughts to really care. But now it looked like some sort of code, perhaps. Or maybe this was her new name or something? Was this who she was now? Her mind went back to Apatite. What had been on their door? It was definitely similar to her own. Maybe this was to differentiate the many departments in the compound. Peridot already knew there was a Medical block. Maybe this was the Tech block? The Weapons block?

"This is your room" Jasper grunted and pushed her towards the door. Her right hand pulled something out of the pocket of her trousers and handed it over to Peridot. Upon further inspection it was some sort of key. "You press it on the handle" the larger explained, guiding Peridot's shaking hands towards said handle. She pressed the device to the metal and it flashed green and made a little beeping noise, indicating that whatever had just happened had opened the door. It swung open and Peridot took a tentative step inside.

"You do the same on the other side if you want to lock it but I don't recommend doing that". Jasper grimaced, probably recalling an old memory, but then changed her expression back to its neutral form. "New clothes should be in there already if Yellow Pearl has done her job correctly" Peridot spotted a pile of folded clothing in the far corner and nodded "there should also be a communication device on the desk. Call me if you need anything but other than that, wait until Yellow calls you. She'll tell you what you need to do next". 

And then the muscular woman spun on the heel of her boot and stomped off. Peridot watched her leave before shutting the door and going over to her new desk. She set the strange key down on the metal surface and inspected the device sitting beside it. It was diamond shaped, each side was a different colour although it seem to glow more prominently yellow. There was also a small button at the bottom of the device. Peridot hesitantly pressed it, jumping back and almost dropping it as a glowing holographic screen shot out. It showed list, empty save for one single name at the top, written in a small 8-bit font in pink letters. Jasper. In the top corner there was an 'add contact' button. She was surprised at how similar this was to phones back home.

Okay, so that was how you used the device to contact other people. Peridot suspected it was only used for emergencies, and set it back down on the desk. She then placed the key on a hook that had been jammed into her door. She decided not to question that, and instead glanced around the room. 

A bed sat in the corner. It was more like a mattress, with a black cover over it and several other blankets scattered over the top. peridot figured that even though she couldn't die, the Diamonds had still granted her with the ability to sleep. She wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. The folded clothing placed haphazardly beside the bed was some sort of uniform, a little bit like Apatites although in a darker palette. She held up a shirt, short sleeved and a deep forest green colour. Besides that was a loose jacket with rolled up sleeves and a high collar. Jeans had tumbled out of the pile as she'd picked up the jacket. They were black and long and Peridot immediately discarded her own, older ones and slipped the new ones on. There were also a pair of boots but Peridot ignored them and began to change. As soon as she'd slipped on the jacket, her communication device began to beep. She jumped slightly and slowly walked over to it. 

The yellow side was glowing, a slow pulse that synchronized with the loud beeps. She tapped it and the device rose from her desk. A large screen was projected into her wall and she stood in awe as the face of Yellow Diamond appeared in the diamond shaped hologram. Peridot would be lying if she said she wasn't at least a little impressed. 

"I see you're adjusting well" her lips quirked upwards for a couple of seconds as she glanced down at Peridot's new clothing. 

The blonde in turn nodded, although a lingering feeling of dread had begun to grow in her chest. She squirmed in her place trying to get rid of the sudden comfortable feeling. Yellow Diamond was silent, awaiting a reply. In the background, Peridot spotted the yellow lady who'd shown her in. She was busy tapping some screens, a look of concentration deep in her face.

"Um y-yes my Diamond" Peridot bowed her head "the technology here is incredible!" She said with a little sincerity. She couldn't deny that what she'd seen so far was truly amazing. Except for the whole Apatite thing, for course. 

Yellow Diamonds smile widened. Something in the way she was looking at the blonde made Peridot want to run but she stayed still with her arms crossed over her chest, trying to calm her beating heart. 

"Good" the Diamond said after a short pause. Her face turned hard again "I figured you'd be good with technology, yes?"

Peridot had never really had the luxury of dealing with a lot of tech. She didn't have the money for it, but would often tinker with broken pieces of tech she'd find, and had began to start a small business fixing broken phones and laptops. It was slow but Peridot never really got the chance to make it grow. She shrugged nonchalantly. "I suppose I do have some knowledge". 

"So sincere" Yellow Diamond cross her arms over her chest and leant forward. Her face was close to the screen. Peridot could feel her piercing eyes on her and tried not to sweat. "Now, here's what I wasn't you to make" she pressed a few buttons off screen and another hologram popped up. The device on it looked sort of like old pieces of gum stuck to each other in one giant ball. Except it looked like it was moving, writhing in pain. Peridot gulped. 

"What is it?" She asked, her voice small. 

Yellow Diamonds eyes lit up at the question and a dark smile grew on her face "we call it 'The Cluster'" she said with a grin "we planted it in the earth a couple thousand years ago with the intentions to destroy that damn rock but nothings happened yet" she explained, waving her gloved hands around. She seemed excited. "We need something that'll trigger its awakening. Something that'll sync with its database and wake it up. And once its awake it'll be activated!"

The dread in Peridot's gut intensified. "W-what's it made of?" She wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer to that. 

Yellow smirked at seeing the girls obvious discomfort "mostly old technology" her smirk grew until Peridot could see two sharp canines glowing in the yellow light. She shivered. "But my older sister started to punish people by killing them and forcing their bodies into the device a couple years after it was initially made. Of course, they're still somewhat alive, have been for hundreds of years. But when its been activated they will be reanimated once again in one great explosion and take out all life on Earth as we know it. Its their destiny. Its your destiny now, too". 

Peridot was trembling at this point. Very visibly shaking as Yellow Diamond laughed. The screen before her shut off and the device clattered to the floor. Peridot didn't bother to pick it up. Shen didn't even bother to wipe the tears falling down her cheeks, she just crawled onto her bed and wept because suddenly everything came crashing down.

Lapis had been right.


	8. VII | The Things They Ordered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Filler chapter

The intentions behind the cluster was still a mystery to Peridot, and yet she didn't have to courage to ask why. Why did Yellow Diamond want to destroy the Earth? The Earth was great! Sure, she didn't have the best life, but it was still her own life, and she was free to do whatever she wanted with it. Now she was stuck in a compound as a slave to Yellow Diamond, who wanted to build some sort of switch for her death machine that would inevitably destroy her home. Peridot wasn't even sure how she'd manage to do it. Wasn't the machine, or whatever it was, buried deep in the Earths crust already? 

Peridot had woken up with a bad headache and stinging eyes, feeling as numb to the world as ever. She had ended up sleeping in the clothes she had been given the day before, too exhausted and emotional to change into anything else in the small pile of garments Yellow had issued her. Yellow. That bitch, Peridot thought angrily, and mentally cursed at herself for being so easy to manipulate. She should really work on that.

She eyed the bag that had seemingly appeared on her desk overnight. Peridot still hasn't gotten out of bed yet, too lost in her own turmoil to really do anything productive like sit up and work on her Diamonds commission. Could she even call it that? Its not like she was getting payed or anything! Peridot sighed, a deep, long breath of air escaping from her dried parted lips. She wasn't sure when the last time she'd eaten was. Possibly before she'd initially found the cryptid mirror? She vaguely recalled munching on a donut as she walked before fining it and blacking out. Her stomach groaned in reply, and although Peridot didn't feel hungry in the slightest, a strange sickly cramp had made its way into her stomach. She squirmed a little and eventually stood up from her bed. Her head swam and black dots appeared in her vision and she had to stand still for a couple seconds before moving her legs forward. 

With a hazy mind and crumpled clothing, Peridot grabbed her key and exited her room. From there, she wasn't exactly sure where to go and backtracked to grab her communication device. Tapping the small button at the bottom, the screen opened up once again and this time she selected Jaspers name. It vibrated a couple times in Peridot's hand and then finally, another screen popped out from the device and Jaspers tired face was illuminated on her wall. 

"What do you want, runt?" She asked and her voice sounded a little more husky than before. Perhaps she'd accidentally awoken her, or maybe she was interrupting something important? A swell of anxiety erupted in the blondes chest. 

"Jasper!" She squeaked, feeling her cheeks heat up in embarrassment "i-im sorry for disturbing you. Its ju-just that I'm a little peckish and I'm not sure where to go" she trailed off and watched as Jasper rubbed her eyes tiredly. 

"Can it wait a couple more hours?" 

"Jasper I haven't eaten in three days" Peridot deadpanned, her anxiety vanishing and another sharp pain of hunger taking its place. Her stomach growled in reply and another wave of sickness washed over her. "I feel like I'm gonna throw up". 

The tanned woman ran a large hand down her face. Her yellow eyes rolled along with it. "Yeah, yeah, I'll get someone to escort you to the food court. Wait five minutes". 

"W-wait" Peridot gasped as Jasper leant forward to shut off the screen. The blonde fumbled with her own device a bit, almost dropping it in her panic "you mean you're not coming?" She asked timidly. 

"Nah, don't really need to eat" Jasper replied. 

"O-oh". 

"I'll send down my buddy Skinny, I'm sure she'll look after you" the taller woman winked and then moved quickly to shut off the screen before Peridot could get another word in. 

With a sigh, Peridot set down the device and waited outside her door for Jasper's supposed friend. Ten minutes passed and Peridot was honestly considering wandering off in search of food by herself until a figure walked casually into her line of sight. 

She was tall and slim with cropped white hair and sharp yellow eyes. Two fangs protruded from her lips, much like Jaspers did. She had darker skin and one singular lighter stripe across her eyes and peeking out from under her crop top was a similar stripe on her right shoulder. There was a scar on her navel. She walked with a lazy grin and her eyes seems to light up as they caught sight of Peridot. 

"Oh hey!" She called out, raising a hand in greeting. Her voice was light and pleasing to Peridot's ears, not like Jaspers low grating one. "Glad to see you're finally awake".

"Uhh?" 

"Oh, sorry, that sounded a lil' weird didn't it" she grinned wider "Yellow had Jasper take care of you while you were sleeping" she explained "I was keepin' her company in between missions so that she wouldn't go crazy and hurt you".

Peridot shrunk back a little bit and tried not to dwell on the new information she'd just been given. 

"Anyways, I'm Skinny, nice to finally meet ya!" She held out a hand. It was long and slim and easily enveloped Peridot's own tiny hand as she brought it up to shake. 

"Peridot". 

Skinny smiled and Peridot could feel her anxiety evaporate. "So I heard ya wanna go to the food court?" The blonde nodded eagerly "well, follow me! I was just a'bouta go there myself. They're serving bacon today, ya know". 

Peridot's stomach groaned at the mere thought of bacon and she nodded once again and followed Skinny through the winding corridors. The taller glanced behind her to check if Peridot was following quite frequently, an unreadable expression on her face. A feeling of dread settled in Peridot's gut. She could feel eyes following her as she strolled into what Peridot supposed was the food court. It was enormous! The seating area was set up in the middle and around the walls were various places one could get food from. Peridot supposed even cursed people needed to eat. As soon as she had set foot on the marble flooring, the group sitting at the table closest to the exit turned around in unison to stare at her. 

One of the people was a tall thin girl with slicked back blonde hair and a large burn scar across on half of her face. She ate with her mouth open, her pointed fangs were visible in the artificial lighting. The girl narrowed her eyes as Peridot walked past. Her friend, a dark skinned girl with one arm, punched her on the shoulder and she quickly backed off but not without another grimace in her direction. Peridot tried not to shiver as she walked past the pair, turning back just in time to see the dark skinned girl plant a soft kiss on the others scarred cheek. 

The pair walked up to one of the food stalls and Skinny leant against the counter and smirked at the woman standing behind it. She was short, shorter than Peridot, with wide amber eyes and blazing red hair tied up in a loose bun. An apron hung around her neck, covering her chubby frame. 

"Hey, Carnie" Skinny said, her smile widening as the smaller leant over the counter to press her lips upon her nose. "Can I get a double order of bacon an' eggs to go?" 

The woman nodded and turned to make the food. Peridot glanced over at the taller, throwing her a strange look. Skinny chuckled "that's my girlfriend" she explained, yellow eyes never leaving the woman "she's the only reason I'm still sane". Peridot's gazed flicked between the two nodding her head slightly. 

"Oh. Okay" she mumbled back. Peridot had never really had the luxury of dating. Sure, shed dated a couple of guys in middle school before she realised she was gay. But those never felt like proper relationships, most of the time her peers pressured her into it, claiming that they would make a cute couple, and then spread rumors once they had gotten together. Maybe it was because she was a raging lesbian, that she had developed a strong dislike towards men in general. She had never dated another girl, though. Yeah, she'd had a few crushes on cute girls passing her in the corridors but had never acted on these feeling. With every crush, the overwhelming feeling of being rejected had always put her off. So seeing all these couples happily together, even in this hellhole, made her feel strangely nostalgic. 

Peridot's mind flicked back to Lapis for a split second. But before any thoughts could emerge from her foggy brain, a small Styrofoam tray filled to the brim with great smelling food was slipped underneath her nose. Her stomach groaned and she greedily took the wooden utensils handed to her and tucked in before the pair could even leave the stall. Skinny threw her a sympathetic look and began to tuck into her own meal before using her free hand to gently grab Peridot's slim shoulders and guide her back to the safety of her room. 

The taller woman stood by the door with a tiny smile planted on her lips, hands clutching onto the warm food. Slowly she slipped a hand into her pocket and retrieved a slip of paper. Handing it to Peridot, she waved a final goodbye and traversed back down the corridor. But not before calling out a quick "call me if ya need anything else!"

Completely ignoring the paper, Peridot finished eating the food, and only then did she acknowledge the paper that sat before her. Setting down the tray on her desk, she grabbed the paper to inspect it. It was a code, much like the one on her door only...different. Skinny had said to call her, perhaps this was something Peridot could add to her communication device? She reluctantly picked the device up and clicked onto her contact list. There was only one name so far. Jaspers. She tapped on the screen and a list of information appeared, something Peridot hadn't noticed before. Did she have one of these? Beside Jaspers name was a code written on bold pink letters. She glanced down at the paper Skinny had given her, then back to the screen. And then tapped the 'create new contact' button in the top corner. 

The screen turned grey and a single box appeared in the middle. Peridot pressed a finger on it and a keyboard sprung up, startling her. She keyed in the code and Skinny's profile popped up on the screen. This time the code next to her name was an ocean blue colour. Peridot quickly added her onto her slowly growing contact list then shut off the device, pushing it into the corner of her desk. Her gaze fluttered over to the bag. Her heart beat a little faster. With reluctant hands, she dragged the bag forwards and opened it up. It was one of those stringed bags, the ones where you pull on the strings and it closes. She pulled at the top and it opened easily. Reaching a shaking hand in, she first retrieved a tablet, and then some small disks. 

It looked like a tablet you'd find on earth. She turned it sideways and found the power button, pressing it gently to turn it on. The screen lit up, the yellow diamond insignia she'd grown so used to these past couple days sprung up. Below it, the clear white text read "property of the Great Diamond Authority" and a wave of disgust overcame the blonde. Was that what she was now? Property? It took all her will not to just dump the tablet back into the bag, but she waited patiently for it to load up, and when it did, the screen was a dark gray colour. It was asking for a passcode. Peridot tapped in the code on her door and it beeped before opening up. She smiled slightly at her smartness but it died down as quickly as it had come when she read the titles for the documents. And below that was a list of names, several pages long. She spotted Apatites near the top, written in that familiar blue text. Curiously, she scrolled down until she spotted her own name. Peridot. Written in text of a golden hue. She frowned and tapped on it. 

She was met by another black screen. In the middle were the flashing words 'please insert disk 1'. Peridot glanced down at the disks scattered over her desk. She picked one up and surveyed it. It was small and golden, with tiny pieces of code she didn't recognize crossing over the front and back panels. There was a tiny number written on the back, and once Peridot found the right one, she inserted it into a slot in the back of the tablet and another hologram emitted from the screen.

The faint yellow light lit up the entire room and she gazed up at it with wide green eyes. Before her stood a diagram filled to the brim with small annotations. This was what she was supposed to build. This was her new purpose in life. The Diamonds had lured her here to complete a task they couldn't do on their own. And Peridot didn't like it one bit.


	9. VIII | The Things They Miscalculated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lapis has a chat with Blue Diamond ;)

The mirror was a cold and dank place, slick silver water made up the flooring and there was blackness as far as the eye could see. Before her stood a large glassy wall that rippled when she moved to touch it, although whenever she felt like she could slide her hand through, she was met with solid glass. Of course, she'd tried to break it. First with brute force, and then with her hydrokinesis, but the glass seemed to be enchanted and unbreakable to any being that wasn't a Diamond. Lapis Lazuli had spent the last two centuries trying to escape from her mirrored prison. In fact, she though she'd succeeded when the rebels had taken her away from the compound. She'd though that she had finally won. But the rebels hadn't freed her, only tried to use her as a tool against the Diamonds. And at first she'd tried to help, tried to communicate with them through touch rather than sound and words. But once they figured that trying to talk to the magic mirror was proving useless, they had abandoned her. Thrown into the trash, where she spent many years being shoved around. No one else had picked her up. Until the pale blonde woman had peered into the glass with her glazed over forest eyes. Her small hand had reached out to her, and finally, Lapis had felt a tinge of hope rise up in her chest. 

And it had all gone to shit when that stupid human had decided to be stubborn and not listen to her warnings. That stupid human who'd willingly handed her back to the Diamonds and then disappeared back into the compound. She half wondered if this had been some sort of trick, but quickly dismissed it when Peridot's terrified face burned its way back into her mind. The way she'd dug the knife into her chest with such desperation. She had wanted to die, and the Diamonds had taken away that one thing. Lapis knew that blaming Peridot wouldn't get her anywhere, but if she'd decided to actually listen to her, then they'd both be safe and away from then iron grip of the Diamonds by now. 

Lapis was still trapped in her mirror. And said mirror was lying on the cold stone floor of a cell located in the catacombs of the compound. Away from any prying eyes. Away from any source of water. Blue Diamond had been careful this time. She knew the power Lapis now possessed. Although being trapped in a mirror that was itself trapped in a cell was a little unnecessary, Lapis couldn't help but feel a tinge of excitement at seeing Blue Diamond again. It was kind of morbid in a way. Lapis wanted more than anything to kill the woman where she stood, she wanted to see the scared look on her face as the life drained from her body. As her soul left. As she slumped down to the floor in a heap of flesh and soft cotton clothing. As Lapis walked away a free woman after so many years of being trapped. A small smile graced her lips at the thought. 

She was pulled out of her daydream but the sound of metal scraping stone. The main door to the cells opened up slowly, a large black boot stepped into view, and along with it came an all too familiar face that drained all colour from Lapis' face. Those deep yellow eyes scanned the room and finally landed on the mirror. Sharp fangs could be seen as the figure smiled a wide, sadistic smile. Her steps echoed off the walls as she approached her cell. The click of a key entering the clock. Turning. The cell door was open. Another step forward and she was in. A large hand wrapped around the handle of the mirror, it was pulled up to her face. Lapis grimaced. 

"Welcome back, Lazuli, I see you're doing well" the gruff voice sounded in Lapis' ears and the sound made her reel back. 

"Fuck you" she growled, clenching her fists tightly. She knew she was powerless like this. She couldn't do anything from inside the mirror, only stand and stare as the other woman laughed. 

"God, you're just as bad as you were last time I saw you" the woman stepped out of the cell and locked it, binging the mirror with her. "You haven't changed a bit! Blue Diamond will not be happy with that". 

Lapis froze. "Y-you're taking me to her?" She asked timidly, her heart thudding painfully in her chest as anxiety shot through her veins. Her confidence dissipated as she was brought up the stairs and onto the main floor. She was met with familiar stone corridors and big looming windows. The sky was dark outside. Lapis felt sick. 

"Of course. Where else would I be taking you?" The woman answered innocently. Like their past had never happened. Like their relationship had never happened. "I have direct orders from Yellow Diamond to bring you to her sister". 

The small woman gulped. She scratched at her head and tried to figure out what to do. A stark realization overcame her and she jolted up, blurting "wait-what happened to Peridot? Is she okay?" All of her annoyance towards the woman had vanished as her slim freckled face came into her mind. Her cute button nose and unnaturally green eyes. Her weird crooked smile that seemed charming on only her. Hey-what the fuck Lapis? 

"She's doing fine. Settling in well enough" the large woman shrugged, and the mirror moved with the motion. Lapis let out a breath, but her statement didn't help ease her growing anxiety. "Why do you care? She's the one who brought you back to this shithole". 

"It wasn't her fault!" Lapis hissed and the water around her began to jerk violently, swirling dangerously around her trembling legs. "It was Yellow Diamonds fault!! She was using her". 

Jasper hummed in response, not replying as she strode onwards. The mirror bounced with her stride, the gaunt shadows on Jaspers face made her look even more terrifying than she remembered. Those yellow eyes bore into her soul. Those sharp fangs, long claws that had buried themselves deep into her soft flesh more times that she could remember. She still hard long pale scars stretching across her back and around her shoulders. Her heart beat fast, the water lapping at her calves as it moved around. The corridors began to grow larger and wider, and soon enough the dreaded stone door stood in front of them. Lapis set out a strangled gulp as Jaspers fist curled tighter around the handle of her mirror, the other lighter fist knocked on the door. The sound echoed down the hallway and Lapis shuddered. 

A slim blue haired woman slipped out from behind the door, her head held low, hands folded behind her back. Her long fringe obscured her eyes, and she spoke in a quiet, timid voice "Blue Diamond would like to see you now" she bowed even further, but flinched as Jasper drew closer. She held out an arm and Jasper stopped with a low animalistic growl that sent chills up Lapis' spine. "Only Lapis Lazuli can pass through the door" she explained. "Yellow Diamond wants you to check on 5XG". 

Wait..5XG? Was that the code they'd given Peridot? Why was she in Facet 2?? Wasn't that the weapons division? Or, it was back when Lapis had been free to walk around the compound, but she doubted it had changed much. Jasper seemed to scowl at the mention of the blondes supposed name, and Lapis hoped nothing bad would happen between the two. Surely Peridot could take care of herself, she'd had nothing before this. The brute handed the mirror over to the petite blue woman and sauntered off back down the corridor, hips swaying as she went. Lapis turned around and instead focused on trying to breathe steadily as she was transported into the room behind the door. 

The familiar bright whiteness and large throne made Lapis feel sick. The woman on said throne made her want to die again. She'd rather spend the rest of eternity dying then talk to this woman again. But, as the small woman set the mirror down and propped it against the wall, scurrying off to the side after bowing to her Diamond, Lapis gazed up into those ocean blue eyes for the first time in over two decades. And she suddenly felt powerful. As powerful as she had the last time they'd spoken. The water around her began to rise once again, and she was sure the Diamond could see it because her lips turned downwards into a deep frown.

"We finally meet again, Lapis Lazuli" she stated with her cold voice. Her piercing eyes were narrowed at the mirror, her hands set firmly by her sides. Lapis could see the magic swirling between her fingers. And then her wrists began to grow cold, something tight and clammy wrapping around them, encasing her hands. She pulled at them but they wouldn't budge, the water stopped moving and she fell to the ground as the mirror started shaking violently. Then it began to shrink, fading away until there was nothing but four white walls encasing her. She stood up, and her eyes adjusted to the light quickly enough to realise she was free. She was free! 

"My Diamond" Lapis finally replied back, her tone dripping with sarcasm as she moved her chains around, her fingers tapping the edges of the metal gently, trying to find a weak spot. Her fingers ran over a strange crevice and she smiled. Sure, Blue Diamonds magic was very very strong, but Lapis had powers that the taller woman did not. And she'd spent the last two decades polishing up said powers. They were near perfect. Blue Diamond had underestimated her for the last time. 

Lapis knew what would happen next. Blue Diamond had called her up here alone, so only two things could happen. Either she would die here and now, or she would be imprisoned again, although the circumstances would be much much worse. Lapis knew she had no chance of surviving either way and that fighting back was now her only option. So she clasped her clammy hand together, gathering up the gross sweat that had formed, and flicked her fingers. Tiny jets of water shot forward, hitting the crevice enough for it to snap the metal surrounding her hands. She quickly did the same with the other and the chains clattered to the ground. Blue Diamonds eyes hardened and she quickly shot up, but Lapis was quicker, younger, more stealthy. She dove back and started sprinting back to the door, blasting it open. Lapis had never ran so fast in her life. 

An alarm must've been sounded but Lapis couldn't hearing it over the blood rushing to her ears and how own pounding heart. Guards began barrelling down then hallway after her seconds later, and Lapis began to push herself to go faster. Warm hands brushed against her arms and she growled and shot her arms backwards. A water cooler that had been coincidentally placed at the end of the main hallway tipped over and encased several soldiers in a thick layer of ice. Lapis smirked and managed to turn the corner sharply and set off down the neighbouring hallway. She was so close to freedom she could almost taste it! 

And that was when she was tackled to the floor. She hit the stone floor hard, limbs crunching under the weight of her body and she screamed at the impact. The soldier squeezed her tight in an attempt to make sure her arms couldn't get out from underneath her body. She could hear the other woman breathing heavily in her near. Oh she was dead for sure if she couldn't get out of this. Thinking fast, she managed to turn her body and kick against the other woman's stomach. Said woman reeled back with a growl, her pale yellow eyes squeezed shut in pain. Lapis nodded to herself and began to kick and punch her way out of the vice grip, eventually succeeding and stumbled forward. The woman lay of the floor, bruised badly and bleeding from a cut on her forehead, but, unluckily, still standing. She wiped the blood from her face and trudged towards the smaller woman with the intent to kill. Lapis flinched and brought her hands forward. 

Then woman froze, pupils shrinking, mouth agape in a silent scream as her great body hit the floor with a thud. Blood immediately flowed out of her open wound and pooled around her static pale body. Lapis froze, hands shooting up to her mouth. Okay, killing a soldier was never her intent, but stabbing one through the chest with a great wad of ice was honestly the most violent thing she'd ever done. A wave of sickness overcame her and she managed to run forward and slip out of a window before she threw up whatever had been in her stomach. As her feet met with the sharp stones that surrounded the compound, she sat down with a tired sigh and listened to the yelling above as her mind grew fuzzy. She was finally free, she smiled to herself. But she knew she'd have to come back. She had to get Peridot.


End file.
